Magazine-firearm.



Patenied Aug. 6, i90l.

(Application filed Nov. 10, 1898.)

2 Sheets-'Sheet I.

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No. 679,908. 7 Patented Aug. 6, I90I.

E. a. PARKHURST. MAGAZINE FIREARM. 7 (Application filed Nov, 10, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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ED\VARD G. PARKHURST, OF HARTFORD, CONNEOTICUFASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LYMAN E. \VARREN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MAGAZINE-FIREARM.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 679,908, dated August 6, 1901.

Application filed November 10, 1898. Serial No. 696.935. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, EDWARD G. PARKHURST, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Magazine-Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the magazines of breech-loading firearms, and comprises improved means for receiving and cooperating with cartridge clips or packets having cartridge-retaining detents or lockers,

the object of the invention being to providesimple, effective, and convenient means, first, to receive and retain the clip or packet in its proper operative position in the magazine; second,to actuate the locker of the clip so as to release the cartridges therefrom when the clip isin position, and, third, to provide means operable at will and preferably from the exterior of the magazine for moving the lockeractuator into and out of engaging relation to the clip-locker, so as to constitute what is technically known as a magazine cut-off for holding back the cartridges in the magazine and permitting the firearm to be used as a single-loader, which may be instantly converted into a repeater by moving the lockeractuator into its operative position and releasing the cartridges from the clip. These improved devices may by obvious modification be adapted to cooperate with various types of cartridge-clips having retaining-lockers for the cartridges. It is, however, herein shown and described as adapted to cooperate with. an improved cartridge-clip which forms the subject-matter of a contemporaneouslypending application, being herein shown and described to an extent sufficient to enable the devices of the present invention to be understood. This cartridge-clip is adapted to re ceive the heads or rims of a file of cartridges and is provided with resilient cartridge-lockers adapted to engage the two terminal members of the file or packet of cartridges, the lockers being independently retractable, so as to unlock either end of the clip to release the cartridges therefrom. Being herein shown as employed with a magazine of the underreceiver type, the cartridges are released from the upperend only of the clip, the lower end remaining locked, so as to support and retain the cartridges independently of the presence or operation of a magazine-follower.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan view, and Fig. 2 is a side View, partly in section, showing the interior of a firearms magazine containing a packet or clip full of cartridges and showing the improved devices of my present invention for cooperating therewith. In this view the locker-actuator is shown in its lowest position, out of actuating relation to the locker of the clip, thereby illustrating the device in its capacity as a magazine cut-off. Fig. 3 is a rear end view in section, taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Figs. 1 and 2, show ing the outline of the clip and my improved operating devices therefor in the position 00- cupied by them in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side View similar to that of Fig. 2 in all respects save that the locker-actuator is in this view in its uppermost or locker-actuating position, so that the upper end of the clip is unlocked and the cartridges are shown emerging therefrom. Fig. 5 is a rearward View of the devices in the position shown in Fig. 4c in section, taken on the line 5 thereof, the plane of the section corresponding with that of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a rearward view, and Fig. 7 a righthand side view,showingin detail my improved retractable detent for holding the clip in its operative position with relation to the magazine. Fig. Sis a rear view, Fig. 9 a side view, and Fig. 1.0 a plan view in detail,of the lockeractuator. Fig. 11 is a side View, partly in section, corresponding to the views of Figs. 2 and 4, showing an earlier type of my lockeractuator and clip upon which my present invention is an improvement. Fig. 12 is a rear view, and Fig. 13 a side view in section, taken on the line 13 13 of Fig. 12, showing the cartridgecli p with which the devices are adapted to cooperate. Fig. 14 is a fragmentary plan View, partly in section, of the magazine-locker actuator and clip of Fig. 11.

vA brief description will be given of the above-mentioned clipin order that the adaptation thereto and cooperation therewith of the present devices may be understood.

The clip-body F, which may be constructed of sheet metal or other suitable material of a rigid or onlylslightly resilient character, is provided with longitudinal flanges at its opposite edges, which project forwardly and inwardly and form a cartridge-head-receiving channel 3 for receiving the rims of the cartridges e. The locker member F, which is preferably constructed of resilient material, such as spring-steel, is attached to the clipbody and is provided at its opposite ends with the locking hooks or shoulders 13 and 13 for engaging the outer sides of the terminal m m bers of the file or packet of cartridges 6. opposite ends of the locker member F serve as independent spring detents or lockers for their respective ends of the cartridge-clip. Although they may be made entirely separate and independently attached to their respective ends of the clip, they are, as herein shown, preferably made in an integral piece F, which is attached to the cartridge-body by means of the rivet 14. The locking ends or shoulders 13 13 of the lockers when in their locked position (shown in Fig. 2) project forwardly over the rims of their respective terminal cartridges, and in order to unlock either end of the clip it is necessary to retract the corresponding locker by pressing it baekwardly to the position occupied by the upper locker of the clip shown in Fig. 4, thereby unlocking that end of the clip and permitting the cartridges to emerge therefrom. In order to enable these spring-lockers to be engaged by locker-actuating means, they are provided with laterally-projecting arms or levers 16 and 16, respectively. These arms are located at opposite sides of the clip, one of them being upon the upper right-hand side of the clip, while the other is at the lower left-hand side thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 12, so as to pass through the magazine in different paths, whereby they may be acted upon by independent devices. This alternate disposition of the locker-arms also enables the clip to be used reversibly, so that the packet of cartridges may be inserted in the magazine either end uppermost with the certainty of operating only the desired locker, which in the present case is the one that is uppermost. The locker-actuator G should therefore, in order to cooperate with this clip, be located in the magazine at the right-hand side of the clip-passage, since the actuating-arm ,of the uppermost locker is located upon that side. The lowermost lockerarm 16 being upon the opposite side of that clip'passage will therefore not come into contact with the actuator at all and will remain closed.

Having thus briefly described the relevant features of my improved cartridge-clip, I will now describe the devices of the present invention for cooperating therewith.

In the drawings, M represents a magazine having a cartridge-elevator composed of the spring-actuated lever S, to which is pivoted the follower S, which supports and elevates the file of cartridges when freed from the clip The The rearward end of the magazine-aperture constitutes a cartridge-clip passage 19, having the grooves 20 and 21 for guiding the clipbody F. One of the walls of the magazine is provided with a locker-actuator at the side of the cartridgeelip passage having an inclined surface for engaging whichever one of the locker-arms 16 16 may be placed upon that side of the passage in inserti ng the packet of cartridges into the magazine. This actuator in its simplest form (shown in Fig.'1l) previously consisted of the projection G of the side wall of the magazine, and it therefore remained in a fixed relation to the operative position of'the cartridge-clip, so as to invariably unlock the clip and release the cartridges therefrom. The upper portion of the rearward side of the actuator G was provided with the inclined surface 2t for engaging with the locker-arms 16 and 16, these arms being bent up or beveled on their under sides at a corresponding angle, so as to suit-- ably engage with the incline 21 and also to facilitate the entrance of the locker-actuator between the arms and the rearward wall of the clip-body F.

By constructing and organizing the parts of the clip as hereinbefore described the cartridge-packet maybe inserted into the magazine of the gun either side up, and owing to the peculiar relative disposition of the lockerarms or levers 16 and 16 the uppermost lockerarm will when the packet is inserted in the magazine come into cooperation with and be engaged by the locker-actuator G', the inclined or wedge-like portion of that actuator entering between the locker-arm and the clipbody as the packet is forced downward into the magazine of the gun, thus forcing the upper end of the uppermost cartridge-locker backward and carrying the locking shoulder or hook 13 thereof out of engagement with the rim of the uppermost cartridge in the packet. This action releases the cartridges and permits them to be carried by their elevating devices out of t-heclip-body and into a position to be successively engaged and forced forward into the firing-chamber of the barrel of the gun by means of the bolt E thereof. 4

As a means for preventing the accidental movement. of the clip away from its unlocking position in the magazine the gun of Figs. 11 and 14 was provided with a fixed abutment 25' upon the locker-actuator G, which abutment was located in such a relation to the inclined surface 24 of the upper. end of the actuator that when the clip was forced downwardly a sufficient distance to retract the locker and release the cartridges the locker-arm would engage beneath the pro jecting abutment 25, which then served to prevent the accidental upward movement of the said clip due to the retractive influence of the inclined surface 24: or to the frictional contact of the cartridges with the clip as they were carried up by the elevator. Thus the uppermost locker by its resilient nature constituted with its arm a detent which .coeperated with the abutment on the locker-actuator for holding the clip against retracti-ve movement. This the simplest embodiment of myinvention was and is preferred in all cases where the firearm is intended for use only as a repeater, using the cartridges from the magazine exclusively. In many cases, however, it is desirable to employ firearms both as single-loaders and as repeaters at will, holding the magazine full of cartridges in reserve in case of a sudden emergency,

meanwhile using the arm as a single-loader by inserting the cartridges by hand singly from the top of the gun into the receiver.

The devices ordinarily employed for allowing or preventing at will the upward feed of cartridges in the firearm-magazine are technically Known as magazine cut-off devices, the functions of which are performed by this invention, as shown in Figs. 1 to 10, inclusive, operating in conjunction with a cartridge-clip provided with lockers. This improvement over the form shown in Fig. 11 differs chiefly in the respect that the lockeraotuator is constructed as aseparate and movable member relative to the magazine, capable of being shifted by the hand of the operator into and out of actuating relation to the clip-locker, being shown in Fig. 2 in the position which allows the firearm to be operated as a single loader and in Fig. 4 in the position which allows it to be used as a repeater. This combined locker-actuator and magazine cut-off g is when assembled comprised in an integral operating piece, being made in two parts solely for constructive reasons and to enable it to be assembled. The locker-actuating member 26 thereofis in form substantially like the actuator G, having upon the rearward side of its upper end the inclined surface 27. This actuator, however, instead of being integral with the side wall of the magazine is integral with the L-shaped slide 28, which is fitted to move vertically in the magazine. From the lower end of the slide extends a resilient arm 29, terminating in a hub 30, into which is screwed or otherwise securely fastened the button 31, the head portion ofwhich is on the outside of the magazine in a position convenientto the thumb of the operator, its outer surface being preferably checked, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10, to enable it to be more readily seized by the operator. This checking is omitted in Fig. 9 in order to enable the outline of the hub 30 to be more clearly shown. The L-shaped slide 28 is fitted into a corresponding recess milled into the right-hand and rearward walls of the magazine M, as best shown in Fig. 1, the edges of the recesses serving as guides for retaining the slide laterally in position. A slot 32 is made in the side wall of the magazine, through which the stem portion of the button 31 extends, and is screwed into the hub 30. Theslot 32 is in length made coextensive with the desired vertical movementof the slide 28, that range of movement being shown by a comparison of Figs. 2 and i. The slot is inclined in its general direction, as shown in Fig. 4, having a quick turn or shoulder at its upper end serving, in connection with the resilient. arm 29, as a detent for holding the slide in its upper or locker-actuating position against the pressure of inserting the packet of cartridges in place. The shouldered portion 33 of the button travels in this slot and is enabled to follow the path thereof by reason. of the resilience of the arm 29, it being necessary for the operator to push the button first forwardly and then downwardly in moving the actuator from the repeating position shown inFig. 4 to the single-fire position'of Fig. 2. The actuator may be returned to its upper position by simply pushing the button upward, no detent for its lower position being deemed necessary, although the slot may, if desired, be formed with a similar detent-shoulder at its lowerend.

The locker-actuator may be moved to and from its lockenactuating position in a lateral direction relative to the clip-passage, instead of longitudinally thereof, either by a sliding or byan oscillatory movement. When moved vertically, however, as preferred and as herein shown, it is obvious thatthis longitudinally-movable locker cannot also be utilized as a means for performing the function of the stop-abutment 25, of Fig. 11, of retaining the clip endwise in its unlocking position. Therefore in such a case this retaining function is independently performed by means of the spring-detent 3%. (Shown in detail in Figs. 6 and 7.) That detent is preferably located uponthe opposite side of the clip-passage from the locker-actuator, so as'to engage with the lowermost locker'arm 16 of the clip, the shoulder or hook 35 of the abutment catching over the top of that arm, as shown in Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, being fastened to place by means of a screw or rivet.

As it may sometimes happen that the cartridges will become jammed in the clip or that the cartridge-elevating mechanism may become deranged and unable to perform its functions of feeding the cartridges out of the magazine in the usual way, it is then desirable to provide for removing the packet of cartridges from the top of the receiver. This could not readily be done if the detent 34 were fixed or non-resilient, as the lower locker-arm would be difficult of access. Therefore in order to facilitate the removal of the clip through the top of the receiver the detent 34 is made resilient and is provided with a button 37, by means of which the operator may retract it out of holding engagement with the clip. The

button extends through the slot 38 in the lefthand wall of the magazine and is screwed into the hub 36 of the abutment.

. I claim as my invention- 1. In combination with a gun-magazine, adapted to receive a cartridge-clip of the class having a locker for retaining the cartridges, a locker-actuator carried by the magazine and movable into and out of actuating relation to the clip-locker.

2. In combination with a gun magazine adapted to receive a cartridge-clip of the class having a locker for retaining the cartridges, a detent for retaining the body of the cartridge-clip against retractive movement, and a locker-actuator carried by the magazine and movable into and out of actuating relation to the clip-locker.

3. In a gun-magazine for receiving the described cartridge-clip, provided with an inclined locker-actuator located in engaging relation to the uppermost locker-arm so as to press the latter backwardly and unlock the upper end of the clip as it is inserted in the magazine, means for engaging with the clip to retain it against return upward movement, and means for moving the locker-actuator into and out of actuating relation to the uppermost locker.

4. In a magazine for receiving the described cartridge-clip, having its locker-arms located to pass in different paths to operative position in the magazine, an inclined locker-actuator for retracting one of the arms, and a clip-retaining detent for engaging with the other arm to retain the clip against return movement.

5. In a magazine for receiving the described cartridge-ch p, having its locker-arms located to pass in different paths to operative position in the magazine, a locker-actuator movable into and out of engaging relation to one of the locker-arms of the clip, and a retaining-detent for engaging the other locker-arm to resist displacement of the clip by the movements of the locker-actuator.

6. In a magazine for receiving the described cartridge-clip, having its locker-arms located to pass in ditferent paths to operative position in the magazine, a locker-actuator movable into and out of engaging relation to the upper locker-arm, and a retractable detent located in the path of the lower locker-arm, and engaging therewith to resist upward displacement of the clip, by the movements of .the locker-actuator.

I adapted to receive a cartridge-clip of the class having a retractable locker for retaining the cartridges, a detent for retaining the body of the cartridge-clip against retractive movement, and a cut-0E for the cartridges in the magazine, comprising a reciprocating slide mounted upon the magazine and having an inclined face for retracting the clip of the locker whenthe slide is pushed in one direction, and for allowing the locker to remain closed when the slide is pushed in the opposite direction, with means for yieldingly retaining the slide in its two positions.

Signed by me at Hartford, Connecticut, this 22d day of October, 1898.

EDWARD G. PARKHURST. Witnesses: j

J ENNIE NELLIs, HANs MALLNER. 

